Effects of Lockdown on Utilisation of Health Care and Mental Health of Pregnant Women in Rural Areas of Balasore, Odisha, India: Experiences Learnt from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Most of the countries around the world accepted and introduced lockdown as one of the major non-pharmaceutical strategies to slow down the spread of COVID-19. However, the pandemic and various lockdown measures introduced to mitigate it were expected to affect the population in many ways. This study aimed at analysing the problems of health care utilisation encountered by pregnant women in selected rural areas of the district of Balasore in Odisha and assessing the effect of lockdown on the mental health of the women. Besides, the study also attempted to explore the extent of precautionary measures practised by women in the study area. It is a cross-sectional study based on the data obtained through a semi-structured interview schedule, from 150 currently married rural women in the reproductive age group including 100 pregnant women selected through a multistage sampling process. Pregnant women in this study were conscious about COVID-19 and most of them preferred to stay back at home and wash their hands/use masks frequently. Unavailability of doctors and long waiting time etc. were reported as problems encountered at the health centre. The effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the mental health of pregnant women was clearly evident, and the two biggest reasons were lockdown-induced immobility and reduced income. Pregnant women, who are highly vulnerable in general, were affected badly due to the COVID-19 lockdown and it is certainly a challenge for the policy makers to address the issue in times of such exigencies in the future.